Harry Potter: The Roleplaying Game
by Renrag
Summary: Harry Potter dies in the forest at the wand of Lord Voldemort, only to discover that it's all been a game. A video game. You've seen it before, now you'll see it from me. My first attempt at fanfiction, Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1- New Game?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that would make me money.**

**Chapter 1- New Game?**

Harry Potter took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and looked as calmly as he could at Tom Riddle, self-styled Lord Voldemort.

"Avada Kadavra" Riddle snarled. The jet of green light rushed forwards, and Harry knew no more.

* * *

Harry awoke to white. Drifting in a void of soft white light, stretching off into infinity, or so it seemed to him, anyway. "_Okay,_" he thought, "_this is… bland. If this is the afterlife, it's a bit cheap._" He chuckled. "_Couldn't have sprung for a chair? Deck of cards maybe?_"

A sudden sound, like the rushing of wind, reached Harry's ears. He look around wildly, and spotted something large and black speed towards him from… above? It was hard to tell direction in the formless void. He tried to scramble away, but couldn't get traction. With a whump of displaced air it stopped, scant feet in front of him. Harry stared.

There, in black letters taller than he was, were the words, "**GAME OVER. YOU LOSE.**"

Harry blinked. Blinked twice more. "Wha-? Is th-? Are y-? Seriously? _Seriously?_ The afterlife is a _bastard_."

The black letters flowed together and reformed.

**SUMMARY**

**Harry Potter**

**Level: 14**

**Favorite Spell: Disarming Charm**

**Character Points Earned: 2,192**

**Character Point Penalty: Killed, -90%**

**Total Character Points: 219**

**Character Store is Unavailable**

**Return to Main Menu?**

**YES / NO**

"Okay, you know what, sure, why the hell not," Harry growled, and planted his foot squarely into the '**YES**'. As Harry yelped and massaged his now throbbing foot, the words reformed yet again.

**HARRY POTTER: THE ROLEPLAYING GAME**

**New Game**

**Load Game**

**Options**

**Extras**

Both the 'Load Game' and 'Extras' options seemed to be hazy and indistinct, like they were made of particularly solid smoke, but the other two looked solid. "My life is a computer game. Well, I've clearly gone round the bend." With a shrug, Harry reached out and (gently) touched 'Options.' The menu changed yet again, displaying only '**Difficulty: Oh God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?**' and '**Back.**" "Figures." Harry touched the only option displayed, which quickly expanded into a small menu. "_Normal, Hard, Insane, and Oh God. Not the hardest choice I've ever made,_" he thought as he pressed 'Normal.' The menu transitioned back, but this time there were more entries.

**OPTIONS**

**Difficulty: Normal**

**Tutorial: Enabled**

**Hints: Enabled**

**Auto-Save: Enabled**

**In-Game Menus: Enabled**

**Permadeath: Disabled**

**Back**

"That's more like it. Probably. Not like I've ever played one of these things for more than a few hours anyway," Harry muttered, returning to the Main Menu. He sighed. "Alight, here we go. New Game."

* * *

**AN: Okay, so this is my first attempt at fanfiction, please feel free to let me know all the horrible things I'm doing wrong. I'm going to be drawing elements from a number of different games, likely including, but not limited to, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Disgaea, and one specific Chrono Trigger reference. Points if you guess it.**


	2. Chapter 2- Getting Into The Swing Of It

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that would make me money.**

**Chapter 2- Getting Into The Swing Of It**

The black letters faded away, replaced by an insubstantial, illusory-looking screen bearing text. "Welcome to the world of Harry Potter," it said. "Before you can get started, you'll need to create your character. As you have not yet purchased any extra starting options, you'll have to stick with Original."

"How do I purchase extras," Harry wondered aloud. "Now you'll need to pick your traits and starting perk," the screen continued, ignoring Harry completely. "Ba-DING," something chimed as another screen appeared, overlaying the first.

**INFORMATION: Traits and Perks**

**Traits and Perks permanently give Harry enhanced abilities, access to abilities he otherwise would not have, and just generally make him less pathetic!**

**You'll select two Traits at character creation, and a Character Perk at every odd numbered level. Of course, there are also Skill Perks and Player Perks, but we'll discuss those later.**

**OK**

"They sound the same to me, why give them different names," Harry sulked. "And I'm not pathetic. Arse."

Harry closed the window, and the original one changed.

**CHOOSE YOUR TRAIT**

**His Mother's Charm -** The skill General Magic begins at 15 when it is discovered. Additionally, General Magic improves 10% faster.

**His Mother's Cunning - **The skill Potions begins at 15 when it is discovered. Additionally, Potions improves 10% faster.

**His Mother's Sight -** The skill Magic Detection begins at 10, and is already discovered. Additionally, Magic Detection improves 10% faster.

"Magic Detection? You can do that? Wait, is that how Dumbledore found the door in the Horcrux cave? Arrgh, too little information. Fine, I'll start off knowing something I have no clue how to learn otherwise." Harry touched 'His Mother's Sight,' then confirmed it when asked.

**CHOOSE YOUR TRAIT**

**His Father's Changes** – The skill Transfiguration begins at 15 when it is discovered. Additionally, Transfiguration improves 10% faster.

**His Father's Cunning** – The skill Stealth begins at 10, and is already discovered. Additionally, Stealth improves 10% faster.

**His Father's Flight** – All Flight related skills begin at 15 when discovered. Additionally, Flight related skills improve 10% faster.

"Flight. Well, that explains a few things," Harry said with a smile. "Bet just about anything that I had that one last time. Why not. Father's Flight it is."

**CHOOSE YOUR PERK**

**Fleet of Foot** - Increase base move rate by 10%.

**Iron Stomach** – Positive effects from food increase by 15%. Negative effects are decreased by 50%.

**Well Read** - Gain an extra skill point from reading skill books. Additionally, you learn skills from books 5% faster than normal.

"Well, considering I died from not being smart enough, I'll go with Well Read, thanks." "Hermione would be so proud," he laughed.

The screen shifted again. "Looks like you're all set up. Are you ready to begin? YES / NO."

Harry touched 'YES.'

* * *

Color. Sound. Spinning, like the portkey from hell. Flashes of image. Birth. First step. Wormtail and Riddle. His parent's deaths. Riddle's discorporation. The front step. Hit by Vernon. Hit by Dudley. Blue Hair. Apparating to the roof. Nausea. Speed. Full stop.

* * *

"Oh, that sucked," Harry moaned, as he tried to bring his breathing under control. He lay on a hard floor, surrounded by darkness.

"Ba-DING."

**INFORMATION: Commands**

**In order to access certain aspects of the game, you'll need to use special commands. Simply say them aloud or think them with intent to access the feature. And people won't notice when you say commands out loud, so don't worry about them thinking you're crazy (not for this, anyway).**

**COMMANDS**

**Save Game- Save the current state of the game in one of your save slots**

**Load Game- Load a saved game**

**Quick Save- Save the correct state of the game in the quick save slot**

**Quick Load- Load the game from the quick save slot**

**Load Auto Save- Load the game from the last auto save**

**Character- View your character sheet**

**Inventory- View your inventory**

**Quest Log- View the log of current and past quests**

**Map- View the in game map**

**Notes- A scratch pad for making notes and reminders for yourself**

**Manual- View the manual for Harry Potter: The Roleplaying Game**

**OK**

As Harry touched okay, the words 'Auto Save' flashed in the corner of his eye. "Ah, okay. I guess-" Harry was momentarily blinded as the door slammed open, flooding the small room with light. "BOY, GET OUT HERE!" Vernon roared, pulling Harry bodily from the cupboard. "WE DON'T WASTE GOOD MONEY ON YOU SO YOU CAN LAZE ABOUT ALL DAY!" "_Ah, dear Vernon, how I've missed him and his gentle wake-up calls_," Harry thought acerbically. Blinking rapidly to clear is eyes, Harry saw Vernon stump over to the kitchen table to join Petunia and Dudley. What drew his eye though, was the pillar of golden light by the stove in the kitchen.

"Ba-DING."

**INFORMATION: Quests**

**Quests are missions that you can undertake to earn experience, character points, and rewards. Quests are available in two forms, Story Quests and Side Quests. Completing Story Quests will causes to plot to advance. Side Quests are not necessary to advance the plot, though they may have an effect on it.**

**A glowing pillar of light indicates that a quest may be started at that location. A golden pillar indicates a Story Quest. A silver pillar indicates a Side Quest. A blue pillar indicates a side quest which may be repeated, either immediately, or after a certain amount of time has passed. Any active quest can be canceled from the Quest Log, and restarted at its start point.**

**You can track down nearby quests by looking at your compass. Good Luck!**

"Compass, what compass?" Harry asked, as a bar appeared at the bottom of his vision. The N and W seemed to indicate he was looking just a bit north of west, and there was a large golden tick-mark in the direction of the pillar of light. "Oh. That compass."

"What was that boy?" Vernon growled. "Nothing Uncle." "Too right."

With that, Vernon open the new paper and started to read.

"_Okay. __**Save Game**__._" Harry thought. Everything around him dulled, as if the color had run out of it, and froze completely. A screen appeared, bearing the words 'New Save', and below that, a picture of the inside of a dark cupboard (or so Harry assumed) labeled 'Auto Save.' "Okay, New Save." The world returned to normal and the words 'Game Saved' briefly appeared in the corner of his vision.

Harry spun in a slow circle, watching the compass. There were two more gold tick-marks, slightly small than the one pointing to the kitchen, and a very small blue one. "_Okay, I need to get out of here and find someplace I can think things through._" Harry carefully walked to the front door, warily watching the Dursleys, who gave no indication they even knew he was in the room.

Harry stepped through that door, and heard what sounded like a bass drum being struck. "Ba-Dump." In the center of his focus appeared the words "**Location Discovered: #4 Privet Drive.**" There was another pillar of golden light ahead of him on the pavement.

"Alright, first things first, **Character**."

The world greyed out and froze around him again as a screen opened. Along the top were a number of tabs, **Character Sheet**, **Inventory**, **Quest Log**, **Map**, and **Notes**, of which **Character Sheet** was glowing faintly. Under those was another row of tabs, labeled **Character**, **Equipment**, **Skills**, **Traits / Perks**, **Condition**, and three more, which were blank and grey.

**Name**: Harry Potter

**Level**: 1

**Experience**: 0

**Next Level**: 1000

**Character Points**: 219

**Health**: 50/50

**Magic**: 100/100

**Stamina**: 50/50

Harry's brow furrowed. "Why are health, magic and stamina in red?" He shrugged, tapped **Equipment**, and snorted at what it showed. "Yeah, that's about right."

**Cheap Glasses** (Poor)

Partially Corrects for Nearsighted

**Oversized Shirt** (Poor)

-2 Socialize

**Oversized Trainers** (Poor)

Light Armor

Defense 0

-2 Socialize

**Oversized Trousers** (Poor)

-2 Socialize

"Alright, let's see what the damage is in **Skills**."

Acrobatics: 2

Athletics: 5

Block: 2

Cooking : 15

Light Armor: 2

Magic Detection: 10

Muggle Studies: 10

Perception: 5

Socialize: -1

Harry's brow furrowed again. Acrobatics, Athletics, Block, Light Armor, Perception, and Socialize were in red while the other three were in black. If they were like that because they were being penalized, then Perception and Socialize made sense, with his glasses and clothes. "_But what's going on with the others? __**Traits / Perks**_"

**Traits**

**His Mother's Sight-** The skill Magic Detection begins at 10, and is already discovered. Additionally, Magic Detection improves 10% faster.

**His Father's Flight- **All Flight related skills begin at 15 when discovered. Additionally, Flight related skills improve 10% faster.

**Parselmouth- **Speak Parseltongue with Native proficiency.

**Character Perks**

**Well Read-** Gain an extra skill point from reading skill books. Additionally, you learn skills from books 5% faster than normal.

**Skill Perks**

**None**

**Player Perks**

**None**

"_Parselmouth. Okay, nothing unexpected here. __**Conditions.**_" Harry's eye started to twitch, fingers grasping for a wand that wasn't there.

**Conditions**

**Bound Core**- Maximum Magic reduced by 90%

**Magic Leech**- Maximum Magic reduced by 5%

**Malnourished**- Health, Stamina, and Physical Skills reduced by 50%

"Are. You. _Kidding_ me!?" Harry screamed. "My magic should have been _twenty _times stronger than what is was!? Mother F- I could have _taken_ the bastard with that! ARRRRRGH!" Over the next several minutes, Harry displayed native fluency in Angrish, eventually coming to a panting stop.

"Okay, okay, breathe Harry, breathe." He collapsed heavily in the grass and closed his eyes. "_Relax, deep breaths, let it go._" Harry sat there for several minutes, breathing deeply and trying to get a grip on his anger. He finally felt like he was calming down… and nearly jumped out of his skin when a bass drum went off in his ear.

"Ba-Da-DUMP!"

**Skill Discovered: Occulmency 0**

Harry stared dumbly for a moment, before collapsing on his back, laughing helplessly. "Ha, hahaha, ah, take _that_ you bastard. Heh, cleared my bloody mind. Hehe, how do you like me now?"

He sat up, chuckling. "And wouldn't that just freak Snivy right out, if I showed up at Hogwarts with an impenetrable mind? Pity I don't have the time…" His face turned pensive. "Or do I? It said that things won't move on until I do Story Quests, right? From what little I remember of Dudley's games, that's how it should work. Can I just, just sit here and practice Occulmency for as long as I want? Or practice anything, for that matter?" He climbed to his feet, and started walking for the park. "_Need to head somewhere the Dursleys won't bother me,_" he mused. He was jarred out of reverie when he was about a dozen yards down the pavement, as a strange shiver went through him. "_The hell?_"

He looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary. He stepped back towards Number 4. Nothing. "Huh. Weird." With a shrug, he turned back towards the park. A short walk later, Harry arrived and started looking for a comfortable looking tree to sit under. He also noticed a pillar of blue light in the center of the park, but decided to leave it for later. Spying a large tree a bit away from the walking paths, Harry headed over.

"Ba-Dump"

**Location Discovered: Little Whinging Public Park**

"I think I'm _almost_ getting used to that." After arranging himself comfortably, Harry closed his eyes and began trying to clear his mind. There was no park, no birds singing, no children playing, no breeze on his skin, no stray thoughts in his head, just quiet and emp-"Ba-Da-Dump!"

**Occulmency 1**

"GAH!"

* * *

**AN: Longer chapter this time. A little clarification before anyone asks. Harry's a bit confused about how that Magic stat works. While he'd have twenty times that battery life, if you will, he would not necessarily be more powerful.**


	3. Chapter 3- Getting Swung At

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that would make me money.**

**Chapter 3 – Getting Swung At**

"Ba-Da-Dump"

"**Occulmency 20"**

Harry opened his eyes. He had been at this for half a day, at least, yet the sun had not moved an inch. Rising to his feet, he was slightly surprised to find that nothing popped as he did so. '_Actually, I feel fine. Not stiff or sore at all. Weird. Still, time for a break, wouldn't want to lose my mind from boredom._' A quick glance at his character sheet confirmed that Occulmency was indeed now at skill level 20, making it his best skill, and wasn't that an odd thought. Walking over to the blue pillar of light near the center of the park, Harry tried to remember, '_The blue ones were the repeatable quests, right? Pretty sure they are._'

Harry circled the pillar, eyeing it cautiously. As he stepped into the light, a message appeared. "**Begin Quest: Harry Hunting? YES / NO**." "Yes. Wait, Harry Hunting?"

"There he is, get him!"

Harry whirled around to spy Dudley and his gang, perhaps 40 feet away and closing fast. The world froze. "Ba-Ding."

**QUEST: HARRY HUNTING**

**OBJECTIVES**

**- Escape from Dudley's Gang!**

The world unfroze, and Dudley's gang resumed their charge. He had no wand and no combat skills, which left only one option. '_Oh shite,_' he thought, as he turned and bolted as fast as his legs would carry him. As he ran, a green bar appeared in the corner of his vision, a green bar that was rapidly emptying out. Having no time to spare wondering what it was, he tore out of the park. Pelting down the pavement, Dudley and company in hot pursuit, the bar neared empty. The world froze, and Harry locked in place. "Ba-Ding."

**INFORMATION: Low Stamina **

**You are nearly out of Stamina. Stamina is the energy you use in order to run, jump, climb, and perform other strenuous physical activities. When you run out, you will no longer be able to undertake those actions until you recover some Stamina. Stamina recovers naturally when you are not using it, and there are potions that will restore it as well. Your Stamina will even recover while you are walking around!**

As the world unfroze, Harry's forward momentum resumed. His feet, alas, did not, leaving Harry to make a close inspection of the cement. "Got you now, freak," came Dudley's voice, "no one here to save you!" '_Save?' _Harry's eyes widened. '_I forgot to save!_' The air rushed out of him as Dudley planted his foot in Harry's stomach. A red bar appeared next to the slowly refilling green one. The red bar continued to drop in jumps as kick after kick landed, until…

"Ba-Ding"  
**INFORMATION: Low Health **

**You are nearly out of Health. Health is a measure of your physical wellbeing. When it reaches empty, you will die. Health can be restored via Muggle Medicine, Magical Healing, or certain potions. On Normal difficulty, Health may also be restored by eating food, and will recover very slowly on its own outside of combat.**

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. As the final kick descended, Harry was struck with a burst of inspiration. "Quest Log!" he gasped. The world froze yet again, Dudley's foot a scant inch from the side of his head. "Harry Hunting. Cancel." "**Are you sure you wish to cancel the Quest 'Harry Hunting?' YES / NO.**" "Yes!" "**Quest: Harry Hunting- FAILED.**" Reality resumed, and as Dudley and his gang vanished as if they're never been there, Harry collapsed gratefully to the ground. "Save *gasp* Game *wheeze* Slot *pant* One."

"**Game Saved.**"

'_Character._' Harry's eyes bulged. '_Two health left. Two out of fifty. Merlin, they almost beat me to death._'

* * *

After laying on the pavement for a half an hour, Harry's health had recovered to five of fifty. Finally feeling well enough to try standing, he began to hobble back towards Number 4. '_I need to find a way to improve my survivability,_' he thought. '_If I hadn't canceled, I'd have been killed by a bunch of nine or ten year olds. That's not going to be- What the hell was that?_' Harry jumped, as a shiver went through him. '_That happened before, as I was leaving. Exact same place too._' He stepped back through the spot about a dozen feet from Number 4. Nothing. Twice more. More nothing. "What the hell?" he muttered. Making a note to himself to figure it out latter, Harry continued inside. All three Dursleys still sat at the table, and did not appear to have moved, despite the hours that had passed. In fact, it looked like Vernon was still on the same page of the newspaper. '_Guess I really do have all the time in the world._'

Harry glared suspiciously at the golden light in the kitchen. '_Quick Save._' "**Game Saved.**" A deep breath, and he stepped into it. "**Begin Quest: Crafting- First Steps? YES / NO**." "Okay, that doesn't seem too bad. Yes."

**QUEST: Crafting- First Steps**

**OBJECTIVES**

**- Cook 6 'Full English Breakfast' (0/6)**

**- Cook 1 'Grapefruit Half' (0/1)**

**- Cook 4 'Cup of Coffee' (0/4) **

**- Cook 3 'Glass of Orange Juice' (0/3)**

"Ba-Ding"

**INFORMATION: Crafting**

**Welcome to the crafting interface! This interface allows you use your skills to combine ingredients you possess into finished products. On the left, you'll find a list of ingredients you have. On the right, recipes that you know how to make. At the bottom right, your current skill level, Cooking in this case. To craft, just choose a recipe, and select 'Create.' Of course, you could also select ingredients from the list, and try to create something from that. Maybe you'll discover something amazing! Since this is your first time crafting, we've given you the recipes and ingredients needed for this quest. Good luck, and get cooking!**

"Seems simple enough. Full English Breakfast, Create." There was a noise, like something sizzling in a pan, and the message "**Added Full English Breakfast (Average).**" Harry also noticed that there was a bar underneath 'Cooking 15' that had grown somewhat longer. "Wow. It's the world of tomorrow, push button, receive bacon," Harry laughed. "Full English Breakfast, oh hey, Create Multiple, 5, Create." "**Added (4) Full English Breakfast (Average). Added Full English Breakfast (Good).**" "Ba-Da-Dump."

"**Cooking 16"**

"Nice." Harry quickly finished up the remaining food.

"**Objective Updated! Deliver food to the table.**" Harry closed the interface, took a step, and stopped. "I wonder… Inventory." The inventory menu opened. "Yeah, it's all there. So… what if I… Quest Log. Crafting- First Steps. Cancel. Yes." "**QUEST: Crafting- First Steps FAILED.**"

"Inventory." Harry grinned as slightly unnerving grin at the sight of the still present food, and went outside to have breakfast. No sense seeing what the limit of the Dursleys ignoring reality was. Two breakfasts and a cup of coffee later, Harry was back at full health, and feeling pretty good. "Okay, let's try this again, and hope it works." Harry went back inside, started the quest again, and to his joy, the free ingredients were back. He cracked his knuckles. "Save Game. Slot One." "**Game Saved.**"

* * *

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Cooking 25, Skill Perks Unlocked**

"What? What skill perks?"

**INFORMATION: Skill Perks**

**Congratulations on reaching skill level 25 for the first time! You have now unlocked the Skill Perks for this skill. Skill Perks are acquired, not by gaining levels, but by completing certain objectives. This information can be found in the skill menu, by selecting the skill in question.**

"Huh. Alright, yeah, I can see how that could be useful. Well, let's see what I'm working with. Skills. Cooking. Skill Perks."

**COOKING SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Cooking – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Cooking (25/100)**

**God of Cookery – Learn 250 Recipes (4/250) **

"Well, that's unhelpful. Could at least tell me what they do," he grumbled. "And man, that's a lot of recipes. I know Petunia had at least a few cookbooks around here, where did they get to?" After a few moments of rummaging and complaining about being too short to reach things, Harry gave up. It seemed that just because something was there in real life, was no guarantee that it would be there in the game.

"Well, if I want books, looks like I'm headed to the Library, then. May as well get some use out of this perk of mine." He left through the front door, and came to a stop, staring suspiciously at a spot on the pavement a dozen feet away. Approaching cautiously, he carefully stepped across. Nothing happened. Harry glared. The pavement absorbed it stoically.

Harry turned, and started to jog towards the library, dropping to a walk when his stamina got low, and picking it up again as it refilled. '_No reason to waste the trip if I can be training my Athletics at the same time. Wow. I'm multitasking on my way to the library. Hermione's head would explode,_' he thought with a laugh. It only took about twenty minutes so get there, in which time his Athletics had risen from 10 to 13. '_Though it only counts as a 6, due to being malnourished. Thank you, oh loving relatives of mine._' He dropped to a walk and went inside, and stumbled to a halt.

"Ba-Dump"

**Location Discovered: Little Whinging Public Library**

'_Alright, I'm almost completely sure that that wasn't here before_.' While everything was normal up to the checkout desk and the librarian sitting there, past them was a translucent red barrier of some sort, covering all access into the library proper. Saving the game, Harry walk over and touched the barrier.

**INFORMATION: Action-Locked Areas**

**Some areas are unavailable until you have completed a certain action. This could mean completing a quest, obtaining an item, talking to a certain person, or something else.**

With his hand still on the barrier, text rapidly flashed by "**Locked. Requires (1) Little Whinging Library Card OR Stealth 30.**"

**Skill Discovered: Stealth 0**

**INFORMATION: Stealth**

**Stealth is the art of going unnoticed. In order to use it, walk quietly, stay out of people's line of sight, and try not to make a lot of noise. What, did you think all you'd need to do is squat down or something?**

"Is this game getting snarky at me? Err, snarkier?" he wondered. "I'm going to either need to spend a lot of time sneaking up on people, or I need a library card. Let's try the easy way first." Walking back to the front desk, Harry addressed the librarian. "Excuse me, I'd like to get a library card, please."

The woman looked up from her computer and smiled at him. "Of course dear. There is a small service fee of £5." Harry blinked. Weren't library cards supposed to be free? "I don't actual have any money on me," he admitted. "Oh. Well, I suppose I could waive the fee if you'd be willing to take care of a small chore for me," she offered. "I just need someone to clean out some old boxes from the backroom. They've been there forever, your welcome to do with them as you like." "**Begin Quest: Library Cleanup. Y / N.**" "Sure, err, I mean Yes."

**QUEST: Library Cleanup **

**OBJECTIVES**

**- Gather the contents of 3 boxes (0/3)**

**- Return to the librarian**

"Wonderful, follow me," she said as she rose and they moved through the door behind the counter. The librarian took him down a short corridor into a room that seemed half office, half storage space. She pointed towards the corner of the small room, "it's those three right there." Harry reckoned they were pretty hard to miss, since they were glowing and had little motes of light, almost like embers, rising off them.

"Ba-Ding"

**INFORMATION: Looting and Stealing**

**There are many useful objects in the world. If they don't belong to anyone, feel free to take them. Be careful, though. If you take something that belongs to someone else, they're may be consequences. Be sure to search the world thoroughly!**

"I'll be at the desk getting your card set up, let me know when you're done," she smiled, and closed the door as she left. Harry walked to the first box and opened the lid. "Not much in here, let's see, £6.50, an apple, and a copy of _Collin's Book of British Birds_… which is glowing for some reason?" It was soft, Harry would have likely missed it if he hadn't been looking right at the book, but it was definitely glowing. Curious, he opened it.

"Ba-Ding"

**INFORMATION: Skill Books**

**Congratulations on finding your first skill book. Skill books automatically increase your rank in a particular skill by two (three with the Well Read Perk). Of course, you can still study the book for additional skill growth, spells, and information.**

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Perception 13**

"Perception? Why would a bird book… bird watching, I get it. Sure, why not." Tucking everything away into his inventory, Harry opened the next box. "£7.00. That's it? Why would you have such a big box and only keep £7.00 in it?" Grumbling about wastefulness, he tossed back the lid on the final box.

He found a rat.

A mean looking rat.

A mean looking rat the size of a large dog.

Harry's eyes widened.

The rat's eyes narrowed.

"Bloody hell!" Harry yelped, throwing himself to the side in time to dodge the rat's lunge. His foot lashed out on instinct, barely clipping the beast as it wheeled around to face him.

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Skill Discovered: Unarmed 0**

"Not now, damn it!" He slipped to the side again, frantically looking around for something to use as a weapon. "This would be" dodge "so much" duck "easier with a" jump "wand! Or if I wasn't" bob and weave "bloody _ten_!" The rat threw itself at his chest, and he stumbled back into the desk. There on the desk was a letter opener, and he snatched it up and spun the face the devil-rodent.

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Skill Discovered: Short Blade 0**

"Shut up!" he screamed, hurling the letter opener at the rat in frustration. He missed by miles.

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Skill Discovered: Thrown 0** the game added helpfully.

With an inarticulate roar, Harry grabbed the desk chair and swing it, somehow connecting and leaving the rat briefly stunned. Again and again he swung with all the meager power his scrawny arms could managed, until at last the beast went still. Placing the chair back on the ground, Harry collapsed into it, breathing heavily.

**Giant Rat Defeated! Gained 50 experience!**

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Skill Discovered: Blunt 3**

**INFORMATION: Looting, Part 2**

**Defeated enemies often has useful items on their person. To see what a defeated enemy has, just touch them and use the command "Loot."**

Harry's eye twitched. "Loot," he growled, prodding the rat with his foot.

_**Giant Rat**_

_Rat Pelt_

_Rat Meat, 2_

_£9.00_

"Where the hell did it get money from?

* * *

After eating his found apple and a glass of orange juice, Harry stumped back to the front desk. "All done then?" the librarian asked. "Yeah, it's done." "Wonderful, thanks so much. And here's your library card dear," she said, presenting the card.

**QUEST COMPLETE: Gained 200 experience. Gained 10 character points. Added 'Little Whinging Library Card.'**

With a sound like the shattering of glass, the red barrier broke into pieces and faded away.

"Finally."

* * *

**AN: Wow, talk about a chapter the really did not want to be written. I started this Monday, but about midway through it just did not want to come out. I'm going to start putting Harry's Character sheet at the bottom, just so you can easily see how he stands at the end of each chapter. If anyone has ideas for Perk names or effects, please do let me know. I already have a list of ideas, but it is in no way complete or final.**

Listed are Harry's modified scores, with his real ones listed in parenthesis if different.

**Name**: Harry Potter

**Level**: 1 **Next Level**: 1000

**Experience**: 250 **Character Points**: 229

**Health**: 50/50 (100) **Magic**: 100/100 (2000) **Stamina**: 50/50 (100)

**Skills**

**Acrobatics** 2 (5)

**Athletics** 6 (13)

**Block** 2 (5)

**Blunt** 1 (3)

**Cooking** 25

**Light** **Armor** 2 (5)

**Magic Detection** 10

**Muggle Studies** 10

**Occulmency** 20

**Perception** 8 (13)

**Short Blade** 0

**Socialize** -1 (5)

**Stealth** 0

**Thrown** 0

**Unarmed** 0

**Traits**

His Mother's Sight

His Father's Flight

Parselmouth

**Character Perks**

Well Read

**Conditions**

Bound Core

Magic Leech

Malnourished

Nearsighted


	4. Chapter 4- The Daily Grind

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that would make me money.**

**Chapter 4 – The Daily Grind**

Harry stared at the rows and rows of bookshelves and tried to decide where to start. It was slightly overwhelming to know that he had the time to sit down and read an entire library if he felt like it. "In fact, I probably _will _read the entire Hogwarts library when I get the chance. Well, I came here for cookbooks, where's the cooking section?" A few minutes of wandering, and Harry located the shelves dedicated to cookbooks and cooking techniques. Skimming the titles, he saw that two of them were glowing softly. _'Seems like the place to start, then,'_ he thought as he grabbed the books and flipped them open.

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Cooking 31**

"Hmm. I'll read these in a minute. First, I should look about and see if there are any other skill books."

Prowling up and down the aisles, glancing at every book on every shelf, took a bit over a half an hour, but by the end Harry was carrying a fairly impressive stack of glowing books. Setting them down in one of the carrels and placing the cooking books to the side for now, he grabbed the first book and looked at it with trepidation. _A Brief History of Time_ did _not_ sound like a light undertaking, but he flipped it open anyway.

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Muggle Studies 13**

* * *

Harry grabbed the last book in his pile. All told, he had thus far gained 15 points in Muggle Studies, 6 points in Cooking and Socialize, 3 points in Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception and Unarmed, and discovered the Expression skill, which was at 3. He flipped open the last book.

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Language Discovered: French 3**

**INFORMATION: Languages**

**You have discovered that, contrary to the opinions of some, English is not the only language in the world! The higher your score in a language, the easier time you have communicating in it. Your language score acts as a percentage cap to skills (usually Socialize) when you attempt to work with that language. That is to say, if you have a Language of 50, you can utilize your skill at 50% of normal. Improve your score by speaking to people using the language, or reading works written in it.**

**The Languages Tab has been unlocked in the Character Sheet!**

Harry blinked. "Bonjour, au revoir, un, deux, trois. Huh. I know… very little French, but there is some there. Character." The character sheet appeared, and there was indeed a new tab labeled Languages, which proclaimed him to have English 100, French 3, and Parseltongue 100. "Well, now I just need to find someone who speaks French to practice with, and I'm in business." Harry stopped. "Wait. It just said I had to speak to people, not that they had to understand or speak back. Would that work?"

Curious, Harry walked up to the librarian at the desk. "Bonjour," he said. She turned and smiled at him, "I'm sorry, I don't speak French," and turned back to her computer.

"Bonjour."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Bonjour."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Bonjour."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 4**

He grinned.

* * *

"Bonjour."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 12**

**Socialize 13**

* * *

"Où se trouvent les toilettes?"

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 29**

* * *

"Omelette au fromage."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 44**

* * *

"Mon aéroglisseur est rempli d'anguilles."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 57**

* * *

"Si j'étais un homme riche,  
Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 83**

**Expression 4**

* * *

"Avez-vous déjà demandé ce hibou goûts aiment?"

"I'm sorry, I don't speak French."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**French 100**

"Why can't it be that easy in real life," Harry wondered as he moved away from the desk and back to his carrel. "Oh… right. Books to read. Got a bit side tracked, I suppose." Sitting down, he grabbed the first cookbook and started to read. It wasn't easy, but he managed to focus on the book and ignore the text that kept popping up in the corner of his eye, telling him he'd learned yet another recipe. By the time he was done with both books, he had learned 37 recipes and gained another 3 points of Cooking. "That's 41 recipes that I know, but I can't just focus on cooking, I need to work on my other skills as well. Maybe I can work on something else at the same time that I read?" Open his character sheet, the wizard look at the skills he knew. "Athletics or Acrobatics, either could work."

Returning to the cooking section, Harry took down the first cookbook he found. Had anyone else been around, they would likely have found it odd to see a ten year old boy reading while alternating between rapidly hopping in place and running up and down the aisle. By the end of eleven more books, he now knew over 250 recipes (including, to his pleasure, treacle tart) and had gained 24 points of Acrobatics, 21 of Athletics, and 14 of Cooking. "Character. Skills. Cooking Skill Perks."

**COOKING SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Cooking – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Cooking (48/100)**

**God of Cookery – Whenever you cook something, there is a 25% chance that you will create two of them, without using any extra ingredients.**

"Okay, that could be handy, I suppose. I've got other things at 25 or better now, as well. I should probably look at them too."

**ACROBATICS SKILL PERKS **

**Mastery of Acrobatics – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Acrobatics (32/100)**

**Le Parkour – Travel 5 miles by jumping (0.00/5.00)**

**Spring-Heeled – Jump 5,000 times (1148/5000)**

**Walk It Off – Fall a total of 10,000 feet (0/10000)**

**ATHLETICS SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Athletics – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Athletics (37/100)**

**Charlie and Craig Would Be Proud – Rank 1: Travel 500 miles on foot (11.63/500.00) Rank 2: Travel an additional 500 miles on foot (0.00/500.00)**

**Marathon Man – Travel 26.2 miles on foot without stopping**

**MUGGLE STUDIES SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Muggle Studies – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Muggle Studies (25/100)**

**Computer Geek – Spend a total of 50 hours using a computer (0.0/50.0)**

**SOCIALIZE SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Socialize – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Socialize (27/100)**

Harry looked with wide eyes. "This… this is insane. Walk a thousand miles? Fall almost two miles, how am I supposed to survive that? Okay, okay, the Spring-Heeled thing is doable, I've been working towards it already, and as long as I jump on the move I can work toward Le Parkour as well. I can just keep reading and jumping, and see where that takes me. Oh, and before I forget, Save Game, Slot One."

"**Game Saved.**"

With a sigh, Harry grabbed a book and started leaping down the aisles.

* * *

Harry was exhausted, not physically but mentally. With no external way to tell time he couldn't say for sure, but he was certain he had to have been reading a week at minimum. He had finished off Spring-Heeled and Le Parkour within a few hours, and had reached Acrobatics 100 within a day or two, another day or two had seen Athletics hit 100 as well, and he was now a bit over 130 miles into the second rank of Charlie and Craig Would Be Proud. He had been unable to complete Marathon Man, however, has he'd kept stopping for new books. Now, finally, Muggle Studies was at 100 as well, and Harry found he couldn't even find the energy to inspect his hard-won new perks. "I need a break, or I'm going to go 'round the twist. Save Game, Slot One."

"**Game Saved.**"

Leaving the library, Harry turned his steps back towards the park, intent on setting beneath a tree and relaxing for a bit. "You can't even call it slacking off," he reasoned, "since I'll technically be working on my Occulmency and planning what to do next." As he arrived, however, he saw a familiar pillar of blue light. His eyes narrowed with anger, he stalked towards it. "Max Athletics, Max Acrobatics, there is no way I'm not able to handle this. Quick Save."

"**Game Saved**."

He strode forward into the light. "**Begin Quest: Harry Hunting? YES / NO**." "Yes," he growled.

"There he is, get him!"

Harry turned, and there was Dudley and company, charging in at full speed once again.

"Ba-Ding."

**QUEST: HARRY HUNTING**

**OBJECTIVES**

**- Escape from Dudley's Gang!**

"No. No running. Not today, game." Dudley's look of surprise turned to one of shock as Harry rushed forward and launched a punch at his face. The whale drew up short and avoided most of it, barely getting clipped to Harry's annoyance. He stepped forward and followed up, barely touching Dudley once again.

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Unarmed 4**

'_That explains why I'm having so much trouble hitting him,_" he thought, neatly sidestepping one of the goon's clumsy attempts to grab him. He quickly sent the off-balance boy to the ground with a foot to the back of the knee and, with instinct born of numerous fights for his life, followed with a vicious kick to the stomach.

**Dudley's Gang Member Defeated! Gained 20 experience!**

**Unarmed 5**

Harry turned back to the others and caught a punch to the nose for his trouble. Slipping to the side to avoid Dudley's follow-up, Harry launched a pair of strikes to Dudley's ribs and shoved him away. '_I'm starting to think that Acrobatics probably has something to do with how well I dodge,_" Harry mused, taking a step back and avoiding a charge from Dudley's two remaining goons, watching them collide and hit the ground. '_It was never this easy before. Seems like as long as I see it, I have no problem getting out of the way_," he continued, taking a moment to knee one of the rising thugs in the face, then kicking the other in the back of the head.

**Dudley's Gang Member Defeated! Gained 20 experience!**

**Dudley's Gang Member Defeated! Gained 20 experience!**

**Unarmed 7**

"And then there was one." Dudley charged with a ten year olds approximation of a roar, chubby fists flying. Harry found the he barely needed to pay attention to avoid the clumsy swings and, finally seeing a good opening, let fly with a right the impacted the side his aggressor's head. Dudley dropped to his hands and knees, puffing like a bellows.

**INFORMATION: Essential Characters**

**Some characters are needed for the story to progress and are marked as Essential. Essential characters can only be temporarily knocked down in combat, and will recover in a few minutes.**

"What," Harry stated dully. "Are you telling me that no matter what I do, Dudley will always get back up and keep coming after me? That's… that's… what the hell!?" With a cry of anger, he planted a foot squarely in Dudley's stomach. Dudley dropped to the ground for a moment, then struggled back to his hands and knees, still breathing heavily. "It's not fair!" Harry shouted, launching another kick. "All those years, all the beatings, and I just" Kick "can't" Kick "win!" Kick.

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Unarmed 8**

He stared dumbly at the message. Then he smiled. "Good news Dudders. I've found a way to work out my aggressions towards you, while making myself a better person at the same time. Isn't that wonderful?" Dudley groaned.

* * *

**Unarmed 25. Skill Perks Unlocked.**

"Well, I'm curious. Character, Skills, Unarmed Skill Perks."

**UNARMED SKILL PERKS **

**Mastery of Unarmed – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Unarmed (25/100)**

**Emotional Content – Deal a total of 10,000 points of damage unarmed (0/10000)**

**One Inch Punch – Destroy 100 objects unarmed (0/100)**

"Interesting. Well Dud, let's get back to it."

* * *

**AN: Well, real life ended up getting in the way of this one, but it's here now. I had actually planned for this chapter to cover more, but I'll cut it off here just so I can get **_**something**_** out. Harry learning French came about with me goofing around with Google Translate. I have every intention of having him learn more languages by grinding the word 'hello' at people. I find something amusing at having the Tri Wiz roll around and everyone finding out that yes, of course Harry speaks Mermish, why wouldn't he?**

**You may have noticed a lack of perks listed for Socialize. If anyone has ideas, let me know, I'll come back and add them if I use them.**

**Also, I'm thinking of posting, as a separate story, Harry Potter: The Role Playing Game, Player's Handbook (Or something like that). It would collect a lot of the information about how things are supposed to work in the game, explanations of discovered skills and perks, that sort of thing. Does that sound like something people would want to see, or find helpful?**

* * *

Listed are Harry's modified scores, with his real ones listed in parenthesis if different.

**Name**: Harry Potter

**Level**: 1 **Next Level**: 1000

**Experience**: 310 **Character Points**: 229

**Health**: 44/50 (100) **Magic**: 100/100 (2000) **Stamina**: 50/50 (100)

**Skills**

**Acrobatics** 50 (100*) **Athletics** 50 (100*)

**Block** 2 (5) **Blunt** 1 (3)

**Cooking** 48 **Expression** 4

**Light** **Armor** 2 (5) **Magic Detection** 10

**Muggle Studies** 100* **Occulmency** 20

**Perception** 11 (16) **Short Blade** 0

**Socialize** 21 (27) **Stealth** 0

**Thrown** 0 **Unarmed** 12 (25)

* Skill has reached its maximum.

**Languages**

English 100 French 100

Parseltongue 100

**Traits**

His Mother's Sight - The skill Magic Detection begins at 10, and is already discovered. Additionally, Magic Detection improves 10% faster.

His Father's Flight - All Flight related skills begin at 15 when discovered. Additionally, Flight related skills improve 10% faster.

Parselmouth - Speak Parseltongue at native proficiency.

**Character Perks**

Well Read - Gain an extra skill point from reading skill books. Additionally, you learn skills from books 5% faster than normal.

**Skill Perks**

Mastery of Acrobatics (Acrobatics) – Gain Acrobatics experience twice as fast.

Le Parkour (Acrobatics) – Ignore many obstacles while running (What can be ignored is based on Acrobatics score)

Spring-Heeled (Acrobatics) – Increase jump height and distance by 25%

Mastery of Athletics (Athletics) – Gain Athletics experience twice as fast.

Charlie and Craig Would Be Proud, Rank 1 (Athletics) – Base speed increased by 10%

God of Cookery (Cooking) – Whenever you cook something, there is a 25% chance that you will create two of them, without using any extra ingredients.

Mastery of Muggle Studies (Muggle Studies) – Gain Muggle Studies experience twice as fast.

**Conditions**

Bound Core - Maximum Magic reduced by 90%

Magic Leech - Maximum Magic reduced by 5%

Malnourished - Health, Stamina, and Physical Skills reduced by 50%

Nearsighted - Perception -10 (Can be offset or negated with corrective lens)


	5. Chapter 5- London Calling

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that would make me money.**

**Chapter 5 – London Calling**

"Ba-Da-Dump"

**Unarmed 100**

"Thanks for the help mate, appreciate it," Harry offered to Dudley, along with a parting groin-stomp. "Don't worry about it Harry, I'm always happy to help you out," Dudley replied. At least, that's what Harry assumed he was trying to get across with his anguished cry. Dudley had never been the most articulate person after all. "Well, now I just need to 'escape' you to finish the quest." Harry turned and started to stroll away, but stopped after a few steps and laughed. "Can't believe I almost forgot. Loot. Loot. Loot."

Dudley's thugs ended up having £35.00, three T-shirts, three pairs of jeans, and three pairs of trainers on them. All in all, Harry was rather pleased with his loot; it was certainly better than what he had on. Strolling back over to Dudley he once more used the command, but was pulled up short with a message of "**You cannot loot an enemy that has not been defeated.**"

"Ba-Ding"

**INFORMATION: Pickpocketing**

**Are you looking to relieve someone of their valuables without going to the trouble of fighting them? Have you got larceny in your heart and everyone else's money on your mind? Then pickpocketing is for you! By sneaking up on an unsuspecting target and using the 'Pickpocket' command, you can view their inventory, and take things from it. You can even put items from your inventory into theirs. Just don't get caught!**

**Skill Discovered: Pickpocket 0**

"Interesting. Pickpocket." A menu very like to one for looting popped up, displaying £23.50, an Oversized T-Shirt, Oversized Jeans, and a pair of Oversized Trainers. The only difference was that beside each were the words 'Pickpocket Success Chance: 100%' "It shouldn't normally be that easy, should it? Maybe because he can't defend himself right now? Eh, whatever, Take All."

A familiar drum beat informed Harry that his Pickpocket skill was now at 3, and he found himself looking at Dudley in all his dubious glory. "Arrrgh," he cried, spinning away quickly. "Merlin, I truly, truly did not need to see that." Walking briskly, he was about 100 feet away when the game stopped him.

**Harry Hunting- Complete**

**Gained 100 experience. Gained 5 character points.**

Turning back Harry saw that Dudley and his goons were no longer there, and the pillar of blue light was now grey. Floating in the middle of it was a clock showing '59min 57sec' and ticking downward steadily. Shrugging to himself, Harry walked over and sat down under what he was coming to think of as 'his' tree. '_Alright, up until now I've been going around mostly doing whatever strikes my fancy. What I need is to figure out everything I want to accomplish, and figure out how to get it done. Notes.'_

**NOTES**

**Remember to figure out what that strange shiver is just outside the house.**

'_Ah, right, I still need to do that as well. Okay, I have no idea what will come in handy, and what won't, so I should raise all of my skills as high as they'll go. I should also get as many of the Skill Perks as I can, every little bit helps,'_ he thought. '_It seems like I keep discovering new skills all the time, though. What I _really_ need is a way to start working with magic, but for that I'd a wand, which means finding a way to the Alley. I don't have any wizarding money, so the Knight Bus is out. I've something like £80.00, so the Muggle buses are a possibility.' _He laughed softly to himself. _ 'Of course, it's only about 30 miles, I suppose I could go on foot it if I feel… feel like running… a marathon,_' he trailed off thoughtfully. '_Now _that_ has some possibility. I'm almost certain that I know where I'm going, but just to be sure, Map.'_

The image with appeared in front of Harry was composed almost entirely of grey mist. The only things he could see on it were Number 4, the Library, most of the park he was in, and the route he had taken to get between the three. "That is spectacularly unhelpful," he groused aloud, "where is everything?"

"Ba-Ding."

**INFORMATION: The Map**

**The map is here to help you get around! Areas that you have explored are displayed here. The higher you Perception score, and the better your vantage point, the wider of an area around you will get filled in. Quests and Discovered Locations are marked on the map. If you're feeling lazy, you can visit a cartographer and purchase maps to fill yours in. You can also look at a compressed version of the map during play by using the 'Mini-map' command. Just use the command again to turn it off. Now get exploring!**

'_Great, so basically it's useless to get anywhere new, unless I've bought maps to fill it in. From a shop that I don't know the location of. Fantastic. Thank Merlin that Muggle Studies seems to cover local geography, or I'd be going nowhere fast_.' Closing out the map, he went back to his notes. '_I think I have a step one now, get to Diagon Alley. Step two would be getting money out of my vault, which may be an issue without my key. So I guess the real step two, then, is find out if there is a way to get money out of my vault without having my key. If that fails, I convert my Muggle money to galleons. No, that won't work. I don't recall the exact conversion, but there is no way that £81.00 is going to be enough for my wand, I'd need something like… £700.00, I think? And that's not even considering the books I'd need. If I can't get into my vault, this may be a bust._'

Harry sighed heavily. '_I really don't want to spend weeks sitting here beating Dudley and his gang up for money, poetic justice or not. Maybe if I spend some time filling out the map I'll come across more quests where I can get some money. Think I'll start back at the house and work my way out from there,_' he thought as he rose to his feet. '_Mini-map_.' The map appeared in the lower left corner of Harry's vision, and looked to cover the area out to around 200 yard or so. The small arrow in the center seemed to represent Harry, and there was a grey exclamation point where the Harry Hunting quest was. '_Seems simple enough._'

A quick cup of coffee from his inventory to restore his health, and Harry left the park for Number 4 once more. However, just before arriving, he was pulled up short by a now familiar shiver down his spine. "Alright, seriously, what _is _that? Every other time I walk by here that happens, and so help me Merlin, I am going to find out what's causing it if it kills me and every other person in this gods-forsaken town," he ranted. With a snarl, he charged back over the offending pavement, with no effect. Nearly a dozen times he paced back and forth before the strange sensation occurred once more.

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Magic Detection 11**

He stood nonplussed for a moment. "Wait, what? Have I been sensing magic, is _that_ what this is? Why the hell is there even magic at the edge of th-." Harry stopped cold and clapped a hand to his forehead. "The _wards_, I've been sensing the bloody _wards_!" He sighed. "Okay, good, mystery solved. Now focus Harry, and stop getting distracted." Harry paused at the front walk. '_I think spiraling outwards will be best. I can check the map every now and again to make sure I'm not missing something._'

Alternating running and walking, Harry started around the block at a quick pace and began to spiral outwards to the adjourning streets. About fifteen minutes in, he began down Wisteria Walk and noticed his compass showed both a silver side-quest marker and a '£' sign, both further down the street. '_Probably a Mrs. Figg's place if I'm reading this right._'

Moments later he was proven correct. Mrs. Figg was standing in front of her house in a pillar of silver light, looking this way and that and wringing her hands fretfully. Looking both ways, the wizard crossed the street and headed for her.

**Location Discovered: Number Seven, Wisteria Walk**

"Oh, hello Harry," Mrs. Figg greeted him distractedly. "Hello Mrs. Figg. Is everything alright?" "Oh, I'm afraid not dear. Snowy and Tufty both had a litter a few weeks back, and this morning all of the kittens vanished into the blue. If you happen to come across any of them, if you'd please bring them back, I'd really appreciate it. They're quite vocal little things, so just listen for them."

**Miscellaneous Objective: Bring 10 kittens from Little Whinging to Arabella Figg (0/10)**

With that, the silver pillar vanished and Mrs. Figg turned and walked back to the house without another word. "It didn't even ask me if I wanted to that time, I wonder-." He cut himself off at the sound of a high-pitched mewing coming from towards the house. "Well there's one, anyway." Harry closed his eyes and listen carefully. Ten seconds later, he heard it again. '_Definitely towards to house,_' he though as he continued to listen. Eyes still closed, he slowly approached the house. '_Where are you?'_ The kitten cried again, he was fairly certain now that it was doing so every ten seconds. Eyes open now, he began to poke through the bushes up against the house. '_There is was again. Sounded like it was coming from… no. No, no, no.'_ Reluctantly he craned his neck skyward, and sure enough, an adorable black and white face stared back at him from over the edge of the roof. Harry slumped with a sigh. "Quick Save." "**Game Saved.**"

Moving to the side of the house he came upon a rose trellis running up to the roof, and began to climb. "Ow! Shite! Wish I had my- dammit! - Dragon-hide gloves. Gah!" A few moments painful work saw the boy wizard pulling himself up onto the roof. "That… was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. Yay Athletics, I guess," he deadpanned. "C'mere little guy," he crooned to the kitten. "Come to Uncle Harry, he's gonna take you home."

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Skill Discovered: Creature Lore 0**

Harry gave a long-suffering sigh as the kitten bolted for the other side of the roof and headed after it. Reaching for it, the kitten shot between his legs and made for the far corner, Harry in hot pursuit. "Got ya," he cried, as he threw himself into a lunge and grabbed the cat with both hands. The kitten promptly vanished with a message of "**Added Half-kneazle Kitten**." Harry's momentum, however, did not vanish. "Shite shite shite shite _shite!_" he yelled as he teetered precariously on the very edge, wind milling his arms wildly. After a few heart-racing seconds, he caught his balance. "Oh thank Merlin," he gasped.

The gutter gave way.

"Shiiiiiiite!" With a mighty thump, the world's most unfortunate wizard hit the ground, crying out at the impact and the sudden sharp pain in his lower back. He watched as his health bar dropped to a fraction and started flashing at him. "I-inventory," he managed through gritted teeth. Extracting a dozen glasses of orange juice, he began pounding them back one after another, restoring his health to near full. Struggling to his feet, he felt the oddest sensation, as if something were being painlessly _pushed_ from his back. He looked behind himself, and stared at the bloody-tined rake settling back on the ground. "I really, _really_ hate this game."

After a moment to get his head together, Harry set off back down the street again. '_Knowing my luck, the next kitten will be playing in the caldera of an active volcano, or living in Voldemort's sock-drawer. I'll deal with it later._'

Less than a minutes' walk, Harry saw that the '£' sign was looming large in his compass as he approached the end of Wisteria Walk.

**Location Discovered: Wisteria Walk Corner Shop**

**INFORMATION: Shops**

**Shops are locations where you can purchase goods. You can either do so in the traditional manner of getting things off the shelves, or by using the command 'Shop' inside the store. The 'Shop' command will bring up a list of all the goods in the shop, which can be sorted by various criteria. In the shop menu you can also sell unwanted items.**

"That's useful, I can get rid of the extra clothes I got from Dudley's gang. Oh, right! I completely forgot to equip those!" A moment later, Harry was dressed in a plain black t-shirt, jeans, and trainers. It was such a pleasant change of pace to wear clothes that _fit_. Stepping into the store, he opened the shop menu. "Hmm, nothing particularly interesting, looks to be all cooking ingredients. Oh, you can sort and purchase by recipe, that's handy." After a few moments browsing, he decided nothing was really worth spending his meager funds on, and switched over to the sell menu and blinked in surprise. "I… hadn't realized I had that much food on me. That's quite a lot of money, right there." With a small smile, Harry sold all of his food, and his extra clothes.

**Items Removed. Added £1563.00.**

His smile turned into a full grin as he left the shop and made a bee-line for Number Four.

* * *

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Cooking 100**

Having spent an interminable amount of time working through the look of 'Start Quest, Make Food, Abandon Quest,' the wizard quit the quest with a sigh of relief. '_That should be enough to last for a while,_' Harry though, leaving Number 4 and turning towards the shop. A short walk later, he stepped inside, opened the shop interface. '_Since the breakfasts heal the most, I'll hold onto… let's say twenty, for emergencies. Sell._'

**Items Removed. Added £7588.00.**

"Save Game, Slot One." "**Game Saved.**" Stepping outside, he stretched his arms and took a deep breath. "Okay, it's thirty miles to Charing Cross Road, I have twenty breakfasts, it's morning, and I'm wearing glasses. Let's do this." Breaking out into a jog began to follow the roads towards the north-east, aiming to meet up with the A3 and follow it northbound into London. Dropping to a walk as his Stamina depleted and jogging again when it refilled, he found himself leaving Little Whinging in short order.

**INFORMATION: Random Encounters**

**Sometimes, you may come across random events in the game world. These can be things like people to talk to, puzzles to solve, or enemies to fight or flee.**

Through some incredible good fortune, Harry kept his balance and forward momentum as the information screen closed. "Why do I hear growling?" Still moving forward, Harry slowly turned his head to look behind him. Right at the large, gaunt, wild-eyed dog rushing towards him. "Oh. That's why." He threw on a burst of speed, but it was nothing like enough, as the dog lunged and clamped down painfully on his forearm. Harry cried out as the beast worried at his arm, trying to bring him to the ground, health dropping all the while. It was nothing but sheer, bloody-minded stubbornness that kept him on his feet and moving forward still. With his free arm he struck, once, twice, thrice, four times, and with a crack the dog released and dropped to the ground.

**Wild Dog Defeated! Gained 50 experience!**

Limping onward, Harry inspected his bloodied arm. "Alright, I never thought this was going to be easy, but it's looking to be harder than I though." Extracting a still-steaming plate from his inventory, he began to eat.

* * *

**Location Discovered: The Leaky Cauldron**

"Oh thank Merlin! Save Game, Slot One." "**Game Saved.**" He was here. He'd made it. He'd had to work his way through seven wild dogs, five muggers, and a particularly belligerent squirrel, but he'd made it. "Character, Skills, Athletics Skill Perks."

**ATHLETICS SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Athletics – Gain Athletics experience twice as fast.**

**Charlie and Craig Would Be Proud – Rank 1: Base speed increased by 10%. Rank 2: Travel an 500 miles on foot (167.48/500.00)**

**Marathon Man – Running requires only 25% of the usual stamina.**

"I'm really not sure that was worth it. Useful, sure, but after that nightmare, I feel like I deserve more." With a shrug, he opened the door and stepped in. Inside was just as he remembered, before the war. The dingy, run-down, dimly lit appearance, the small crowd of eccentrically dressed witches, wizards, and assorted other beings, the old landlord Tom at… the…

"Bless my soul! Harry P-." "Load Game, Slot One!" "**Game Loaded.**"

Back outside, Harry cursed. "No, _no_, I refuse to put up with the Boy-Who-Lived tripe this early, not on your life." He breathed deeply. "Alright, alright, I can still do this. I just need to make myself look like… well, not me." Quickly pocketing his glasses, he smoothed out his hair as best he could, making sure to keep his scar well covered. '_Attempt number one_,' he thought, as he carefully eased the door open and slipped inside. Keeping his head down and his face angled away from people as best he could, he made his way quickly through the dining room and out the back into the courtyard. '_Got it in one,_' he thought with a grin. Stepping up to the entrance, he reached for his wand. It was at this point he uncovered a flaw in his cunning plan. With rapidly fading hope, he quickly tapped the correct bricks with his finger and watched expectantly.

Nothing.

"Well, nothing for it, then." With his head still down, he stepped back into the pub and moved to the bar. "Excuse me, would you mind opening the Alley, sir?" "Certainly son, just give me a moment to…" Tom trailed of, his brow furrowed. Harry turned away a little more, desperately trying to keep from being seen clearly in the dim lighting. After a moment, the landlord shook his head, and stepped out from behind the bar. "Right this way," he gestured, leading the way out to the courtyard with Harry in tow. A few quick taps, and the sound of grinding stone filled the courtyard that the bricks reformed themselves into an archway. "There we are, young sir." "Thank you sir, I appreciate it," Harry said as he stepped quickly through. "No trouble at all, no trouble at all."

* * *

Harry stood in Muggle London, leaning against the wall of the Leaky Cauldron, wide-eyed and trying to bring his breathing under control. It was… horrible. It had been barely 45 seconds in the Alley before he was recognized, and promptly mobbed. Maybe mobbed wasn't the right word? Swarmed? Yes, swarmed by people trying to get him to shake their hand, endorse their business, or marry their daughter, son, or owl. All things considered, he was pretty sure he preferred being hit by the killing curse. '_Small wonder Dumbledore picked Hagrid to bring me here last time. Well, there's only one thing I can think to do,_' he mused, as sneaking up on the nearest person in the crowd.

* * *

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Stealth 25**

"Character, Skills, Stealth Skill Perks."

**STEALTH SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Stealth – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Stealth (25/100)**

**Ninja Sprint – Travel a total of 5 miles while sneaking (0.00/5.00)**

**Rice Paper Walk – Sneak a total of 2.5 miles without being heard (0.00/2.50)**

**Assassin – Deal a total of 10,000 damage from sneak attacks (0/10000)**

**Lost in the Crowd – Sneak up on 250 people in a crowd (0/250)**

"If 'Lost in the Crowd' is anything like what it sounds like, then yes please."

* * *

"Ba-Da-Dump."

**Stealth 60**

"That's probably good enough for now. Character, Skills, Stealth Skill Perks."

**STEALTH SKILL PERKS**

**Mastery of Stealth – Achieve Skill Rank 100 in Stealth (60/100)**

**Ninja Sprint – Movement speed no longer effects Stealth attempts.**

**Rice Paper Walk – Equipment type and weight no longer effects Stealth attempts.**

**Assassin – Deal a total of 10,000 damage from sneak attacks (0/10000)**

**Lost in the Crowd – When you do not wish to be seen, being in a crowd causes others to lose line of sight on you, and improves Stealth attempts by 10%.**

"Save Game, Slot One." "**Game Saved.**"

* * *

The sound of grinding stone filled the courtyard that the bricks reformed themselves into an archway. "There we are, young sir." "Thank you sir, I appreciate it," Harry said as he stepped quickly through.

**Location Discovered: Diagon Alley- Leaky Cauldron Entrance**

Moving smoothly through the crowds, Harry proceeded down the Alley towards Gringott's. He noticed that there were several side quests marked on his compass, along with dozens of shops which were marked with a 'ʛ' sign instead of a '£'. It didn't take long for him to tune out the rapid-fire "Location Discovered" messages as he passed each shop, and in minutes he was climbing the steps towards the silver doors of Gringott's.

**Location Discovered: Gringott's London- Diagon Alley Entrance**

Stepping into the familiar, cavernous marble entryway, he could see that every window had a significant queue. All except for the one closest to the door. He walked up to the teller, who ignored him in favor of continuing to write in an enormous ledger. Harry cleared his throat. "What do you want wizard?" the goblin barked. "I need to visit my vault," he responded. The teller, Limbhew according to the placard, held out a clawed hand. "Your key," he snapped. "I, err, don't precisely _have_ my key, at this time," Harry admitted. Limbhew favored Harry look of utter disdain, one Snape would have been proud to call his own. "Then _why_ are you here, bothering me?" "Well, I wanted to know if there is some way to access my vault, when someone else has my key." The teller sighed irritably. "You can have a new key made, for a nominal fee, after presenting proof of majority and a blood sample," he rattled off. "Do you _have_ proof of majority, wizard?" "Err, no." "Will there be anything else," the goblin asked in a falsely pleasant tone. Harry sighed. "How do I go about changing pounds for galleons?" The teller's arms snapped out, and Harry followed the pointing finger to a desk labeled 'Currency Exchanges,' that he had to have passed on the way in. "Ah. Didn't… didn't see that there. I'll just… go over there, then." The goblin turned back to his ledger, grumbling something that Harry didn't understand.

**Language Discovered: Gobbledegook 0**

Seeing that he had been dismissed, Harry turned and approached the currency exchange desk. The goblin at the desk appeared to be reading the financial section of the London Times. "Excuse me, I'd like to exchange some money, please." The goblin set aside his paper. "Very well, Gringott's charges a fee of 5% of the transaction. How much do you wish to exchange?" At his question, a menu appeared showing that Harry currently had £9,232.00, and gave an extremely long list of currencies it could be changed into. '_I can't see any reason not to change it all, if I need more Muggle money, I can just abuse the cooking quest again. Probably should, in fact_.' With a few quick taps, Harry selected all of his money, 'Galleon (Wizarding Britain),' and 'Convert.'

**Removed £9,232.00. Added ʛ87 ʂ11 ʞ28.**

'_Next stop, Ollivander's_.' As he left the bank and turned towards Ollivander's, however, something caught his eye that froze him in place. There, just down the street, was Eeylops Owl Emporium. He rushed forward, but was disappointed when he found the door locked, with a sign reading "Closed for Renovations." '_Soon,_' he promised, '_as soon as I can._'

**Skill Discovered: Lockpicking 0**

**INFORMATION: Lockpicking**

**Lockpicking is the skill of opening locks without using the key or magic! You must have a lockpick in order to try and open a lock. Do well enough and the lock will open, do poorly though, and your lockpick will break. We've given you five lockpicks to get you started. Good luck!**

**Added 5 Lockpicks**

**This Lock Cannot Be Picked!**

With a sigh, Harry turned and began to make his way towards Ollivander's once more. Two doors down from Ollivander's however, he noticed a shop he didn't remember ever having seen before. "Cadastral and Hachure, Cartographers? Well, I guess that answers that question. I'll have to have a look after I get my wand." Taking the final steps to Ollivander's, Harry pushed open the door and stepped into the dusty, dimly lit shop. "Ah, Mr. Potter," came a voice from behind him, and he spun with a yelp. "I've been expecting you," the old man continued, "though not, perhaps, quite so soon." Harry blinked. "I just this second walked in the door, how did you get behind me like that," he asked, as his heart rate returned to a normal level. Ollivander raised an eyebrow. "I walked in after you, of course." "Oh." "Give me a moment to put my groceries away," he added, indicating the tiny bags he had just removed from his pocket, "and I'll be right with you." "Right, I'll just… be over here, then," Harry agreed.

Moments later, Ollivander stepped back into the room. "Now, Mr. Potter, just what is it that I can do for you today?" "I'd like to purchase my wand, please." "Excellent," the old man said with a clap of his hands, "If I could just see your acceptance letter?" "I, err, I haven't gotten it yet," Harry admitted. "Ah," the wandmaker said, looking disappointed. "Were you perhaps unaware, Mr. Potter, than I cannot legally sell you a wand until you are eleven years of age, or you have received an acceptance letter to a school of magic?" "Err, no, no I did not know that," Harry admitted. "I don't suppose I could convince you I'm eleven, then?" Ollivander smiled, "Mr. Potter, every few people in Wizarding Britain don't know when you turn eleven, and I am not among them." "Wonder how hard it would be to start my own school then," he mused. The old man's smile turned to a grin. "Very simple, I should imagine. It's getting the Ministry to recognize it that's the trick. No, Mr. Potter, I fear you shall have to be patient and wait." Stepping back around the counter, Ollivander opened the door for him. "I eagerly await your return on or after the thirty-first, or with letter in hand, whichever happy event shall come first. Good day, Mr. Potter." With yet another sigh, Harry stepped outside. "Good day, Mr. Ollivander."

'_I'm starting to think this game is conspiring against me. Fine. Books, then. I learned Muggle Studies out of books, I can do the same for the magical subjects._' Walking back, he once more noticed the cartography shop. '_Ah, right, let's have a look at that, first._' He stepped inside and opened the shop menu. There was an enormous list of places displayed, but nearly all of them were greyed-out, and labeled "Unavailable." Three, however, were not.

"Hmm. Little Whinging, ʂ2, Central London, ʂ3 ʞ12, Diagon Alley, ʂ1. Add to cart, and purchase." With his map made more useful, Harry made his way to Flourish and Blott's and stepped in. Making his way through the shelves, he took down a copy of 'The Standard Book of Spells (Grade One),' and flipped it open. Or rather, tried to.

"**You Cannot Read That Without Purchasing It.**"

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Shop." Harry was nearly overwhelmed by to number of books listed. "Okay, Sort, Remove Fiction. Good, better. Show Hogwarts First Year Text Books. Okay, _much_ better. Add all to cart. Purchase."

'_That should make for a good start, anyway,_' he reasoned, as he left the shop and crossed the street. Entering Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, he bought himself an ice cream (chocolate and raspberry, for nostalgias sake). Taking it to a secluded booth in the back, he pulled 'The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)' from his inventory, and began to read.

* * *

**Omake: Baggage may have shifted during flight**

"Ms. Granger?"

"Yes Professor Dumbledore?"

"How did Mr. Potter just… umm…"

"Suplex."

"Ah, yes, thank you. How, or perhaps the better question, _why_, did Mr. Potter just suplex the Hogwarts Express?"

"… I really couldn't say."

"Ah. Well… carry on, then."

* * *

**AN: Another chapter down, and the longest by far. Thus far, the vote for a Player's Guide is one for, one against, so who knows at this point. I'm still mulling over Socialize perks, but rest assured, I will have made a decision by next chapter.**

**Anna241- I was wondering if anyone would notice that XD. I promise, the perk will become useful, but not until we get to Hogwarts.**

Listed are Harry's modified scores, with his real ones listed in parenthesis if different.

**Name**: Harry Potter

**Level**: 1 **Next Level**: 1000

**Experience**: 930 **Character Points**: 234

**Health**: 50/50 (100) **Magic**: 100/100 (2000) **Stamina**: 50/50 (100)

**Skills**

**Acrobatics** 50 (100*) **Athletics** 50 (100*)

**Block** 2 (5) **Blunt** 1 (3)

**Creature Lore** 0 **Cooking** 100*

**Expression** 4 **Lockpicking** 0

**Light** **Armor** 2 (5) **Magic Detection** 11

**Muggle Studies** 100* **Occulmency** 20

**Pickpocketing 3 Perception** 11 (16)

**Short Blade** 0 **Socialize** 27

**Stealth** 60 **Thrown** 0

**Unarmed** 50 (100*)

* Skill has reached its maximum.

**Languages**

English 100 French 100

Gobbledegook 0Parseltongue 100

**Traits**

His Mother's Sight - The skill Magic Detection begins at 10, and is already discovered. Additionally, Magic Detection improves 10% faster.

His Father's Flight - All Flight related skills begin at 15 when discovered. Additionally, Flight related skills improve 10% faster.

Parselmouth - Speak Parseltongue at native proficiency.

**Character Perks**

Well Read - Gain an extra skill point from reading skill books. Additionally, you learn skills from books 5% faster than normal.

**Skill Perks**

Mastery of [Skill] – Gain [Skill] experience twice as fast. (Acrobatics, Athletics, Cooking, Muggle Studies, Unarmed)

Le Parkour (Acrobatics) – Ignore many obstacles while running (What can be ignored is based on Acrobatics score)

Spring-Heeled (Acrobatics) – Increase jump height and distance by 25%

Charlie and Craig Would Be Proud, Rank 1 (Athletics) – Base speed increased by 10%

Marathon Man (Athletics) – Running requires only 25% of the usual stamina.

God of Cookery (Cooking) – Whenever you cook something, there is a 25% chance that you will create two of them, without using any extra ingredients.

Ninja Sprint (Stealth) – Movement speed no longer effects Stealth attempts.

Rice Paper Walk (Stealth) – Equipment type and weight no longer effects Stealth attempts.

Lost in the Crowd (Stealth) – When you do not wish to be seen, being in a crowd causes others to lose line of sight on you, and improves Stealth attempts by 10%.

Emotional Content (Unarmed) – Unarmed attacks deal 25% more damage.

**Conditions**

Bound Core - Maximum Magic reduced by 90%

Magic Leech - Maximum Magic reduced by 5%

Malnourished - Health, Stamina, and Physical Skills reduced by 50%

Nearsighted - Perception -10 (Can be offset or negated with corrective lens)


End file.
